Nations, Ninjas, and Criminals
by Silver Kitsune-Chan
Summary: Naruto, Itachi, and Kakashi go to Hogwarts to protect Harry from an escaped convict! With exchange students, guards, and dementors, this is bound to be an interesting year! (Hetalia is here too. Fem!Naru and light swearing)
1. New Mission

**Disclaimer: All mentioned fandoms don't belong to me. (Also, as this progresses, you might want to prepare your sanity for fandomstuck or fandombound or whatever you call it. Basically, lots of fandoms meeting. And their personifications.)**

"Fox!" The voice of the Hokage rang throughout the village, causing a poor genin team to lose Tora. Again. The shout resounded through Konoha, making it's way down to the underground ANBU headquarters. "Oh, crap…" A rather short ANBU in with a snarling fox painted onto her mask flinched slightly, suddenly appearing to have Henged into the form of a red fox kit. She dived under a couch just as the door was thrown open, bouncing off the wall and leaving a sizable dent.

"Please, Tsunade-sama, I'm sure she didn't mean whatever she did this time…" The deep voice of a Weasel-masked ANBU sounded after the large breasted blonde that had entered the room. "I don't care, Weasel, I want to know why the Hokage Monument has been covered in paint and why I have a mustache and a goatee, the Third has a clown face, the First has purple eyes and a scarf, the Second has a pony tail on him now, the word 'Rochu' stretching between the two, and then the Fourth has some wacky coloring to make him look like Kakashi."

Tsunade reached under the light brown couch and felt her hand connect with something soft that quickly pulled away. Unfortunately, not fast enough, as Tsunade's fingers clenched around what was revealed to be Fox's hind leg as the transformed ANBU tried desperately to remain under the couch where she was, presumably, safe from the fifth Hokage's wrath. Well, she wasn't, but it was nice to pretend there was at least one place you were safe from the anger of someone you pissed off.

"Fox, get back in your normal form, I promise I won't do much to you for painting all over the monument." The little fox nodded before wiggling around. Tsunade dropped the creature that transformed back into the masked teenager on the descent. Crimson hair tied off in twin ponytails off the side of her head reached down to her waist. A navy blue t-shirt with the ANBU chest and arm guards along with durable black pants were her clothing choices. Black ninja shoes completed the look, and cerulean eyes looked out from behind the mask.

"Who said it was me?" The voice was incredibly young, around 13 at the youngest. "Well let's think," said a tall man in the corner with a wolf mask as he closed the book he had been reading. "We're pretty sure normal pre-teens don't have enough ninja skills to one, not be seen on a national monument that at least fifty people are looking at at all times, and two, paint all over it in broad daylight without being noticed, again, with at least fifty people as witnesses." Fox shrugged. "And if it wasn't me?" The one with the Weasel mask finally entered the conversation. "We'd make you clean it up anyways." Fox glared at Weasel, who she could tell, under the mask, had a face-splitting grin. She just _knew_ the jerk was enjoying himself.

"Fine, I painted the monument. I was bored! I'll go clean it up now..." As she walked towards the door, Tsunade grabbed Fox's arm. "Clean it all up quickly, then come to my office. I have a mission for you three." The fifth Hokage released the young ANBU's arm, nodding to Weasel and Wolf as she too made her exit. "If she's not done by six tonight, go check on her. Help her finish if it's not at least half done by then." Tsunade shunshined out of the room in a puff of smoke. Weasel and Wolf looked at each other. "Want to go watch?" Weasel asked. "Sure." And they were gone to watch the youngest member of their team scrub paint off of the Hokage Monument for the next hour, shouting occasional 'encouragement' such as, "you missed a patch of red there!" or, "don't forget to wash behind the ears!" Yeah, they enjoyed it a bit too much. However, they stopped their teasing and decided to help after they both had to dodge the volley of five kunai each that was launched at them from around the Fourth Hokage's jawline.

With three ANBU working with steel wool brushes of a design that were more commonly seen for horse brushes, the job was finished much faster than it would have been normally. Two and a half hours after she had assigned the ANBU triplet the task, said trio was standing in Tsunade's office saluting their leader. "What's the mission, Tsunade-sama?" Wolf asked as the unofficial leader of the group. Tsunade laced her fingers together and rested her chin on the platform they made. "Remove your masks first." The three did so in close to synchronisation. Naruto Uzumaki, Itachi Uchiha, and Kakashi Hatake stood at attention in front of Tsunade, who allowed herself a small smile. These three had come so far, and she was happy to have watched them grow while giving them small pushes in the right direction at times. Even if that 'small push' sometimes meant punching one of them halfway to Suna, but oh well.

"Mission details, Tsunade-baa-chan?" Naruto asked with a small smirk. Tsunade reached across the desk and gave the girl a flick between the eyes, not hard enough to have to get the wall fixed (again) but enough to make her stumble back a few feet. "Don't call me that, brat. The mission is guard detail for a Harry Potter." She pulled a folder out of one of the many drawers on the desk, and placed a photo on the table. Unruly black hair, emerald green eyes, square glasses, a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. He looked like a nerd.

"Recently, from where this boy is from, there's been an escape from the most guarded prison in the boy's country, called 'England.' It has been described by some who were released because of false imprisonment as hell on earth. The escapee was put in the prison, called 'Azkaban' for killing thirteen people with a single technique, also handing over three people to a supposed 'dark lord.' He was labeled as extremely dangerous by the government of England, and that if you see him, you should call for law enforcement immediately and flee. Supposedly, he's gone absolutely insane, as the guards reported him muttering 'he's at Hogwarts, he's at Hogwarts,' over and over in the weeks leading up to his escape. He is assumed to be after Harry Potter, as the three people he turned over to the Dark Lord were Lily Potter nee Evans, James Potter, and Harry is their son. The Dark Lord killed the elder Potters, but couldn't kill the son, who at the time was simply a year old. Instead, the technique backfired, killing the Dark Lord. The escapee's name is Sirius Black." Another picture was laid down on the table, this one of a black haired man that looked to be laughing insanely on the still picture. Grey eyes were lit with the light of beginning insanity, someone who was starting to crack under pressure. Unfortunately, the ninja in the room knew that look well.

"Kakashi and Itachi will be acting as guards and formally introduced as such. Naruto, you will be going in as a student, a third year. Professor Mcgonagall said she will help you get up to the level of the rest of the third years. You will be an exchange student from 'Japan.' Be careful how you answer any questions, as there could be someone there who looks into everything. Curiosity killed the cat, but in this case, it's someone else's curiosity and we're the cats. Potter has two main friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. Weasley has three older brothers attending the school by the names of Percy, George, and Fred, and a younger sister in second year, Ginny. Granger is at the top of the class and an only child. She seems to regard Weasley and Potter as her older siblings. In return, the two seem to see her as a younger sibling, though not by much, all having been born within the same six months."

Tsunade dropped a few more pictures onto the desk on top of Black's photo. The first one was of three children, maybe twelve years old. One was Potter, the other two were a tall, red headed boy and a girl with bushy brown hair. All three were smiling, even if Potter did look a little pale.

The second picture was of a large group of redheads, all of them smiling widely in front of some pyramids. They could see the red head from the previous picture, presumably Weasley, standing in the middle with a grin covering his entire face. A small white rat was perched on his shoulder, and a smaller girl stood to his left, possibly Ginny. On his right were identical redheads, and in between the two identicals stood a tall boy with a strange pin on his hat. Two males stood on the far edges of the family, one was fairly muscled with scars and the other was rather lanky like the rest of the family with glasses perched on the edge of his nose. In the middle, behind Ron, stood a short, round woman and a tall redheaded man.

The third picture was of Granger, though she appeared younger than she should be now. Ten, if the ninja had to guess. She wore a happy smile, slightly larger than average front teeth showing proudly. On her right was a woman that looked similar to her, but with lighter hair and green eyes, probably Mrs. Granger. On the girl's left was a middle-aged man of average height, with chocolate brown eyes not unlike those of Iruka Umino and round glasses.

The fourth picture wasn't in very good quality, but they could make out a fair amount of the stuff. A bright red train was on a platform, steam billowing out of the spout on the engine. Children in a mixed array of sweaters, t shirts, jeans, shorts, khakis, and long black robes were moving around, obviously trying to get on the train. A sign in the background proclaimed this station proclaimed this to be 'Platform 9 3/4.' The strangest thing about this picture was that the students moving around and trying to get onto the train, were _actually _moving and trying to get onto the train.

The ninja stared at the fourth photo. Tsunade cleared her throat and the trio looked up. Four black eyes and two blue stared at her. "This is the kind of world you will be entering. Moving and talking pictures, strange animals, magic, the stuff of our fairy tales. I don't know much, therefore I can't explain it very easily. The client will be here tomorrow to give us some more in-depth details. You have one week to explore the school before term starts and your mission officially begins. You will be there for ten months. Dismissed."

The trio bowed before using a shunshin to leave the room. Kakashi went to his apartment and grabbed a backpack and three sealing scrolls. Using a brush, he quickly labeled one scroll for weapons, another for clothes, and the last he carefully and neatly painted the word 'Miscellaneous' on. Thus, he stored five changes of clothes, one hundred fifty kunai, fifty five shuriken, and enough senbon to last Konoha Hospital a year and a half. A few books, a small amount of extra money Kakashi had lying on the kitchen table, and spare/replacement pieces for his ANBU armor and arm guards went in the third scroll. All the scrolls went into the backpack, and Kakashi pulled out 'Assassination Tactics; Then and Now' by an author in Kiri to read until somebody came calling for him.

Itachi went to the small cabin he held ownership of in the woods just outside Konoha. He had lived here ever since he had to decimate the rest of his clan. He pulled a black gym bag out of the closet and placed it on the bed. In it, he put in seven pairs of clothes and grabbed a scroll with the word 'Materials' on it in his fine, smooth writing. In the scroll were kunai, shuriken, and senbon about the same number as Kakashi. Itachi also had in the scroll, a few loops of ninja wire five meters each, five fuma shuriken, and care materials for his katana. That went into the bag as well. The katana in question was wrapped in a purple cloth, tied on both ends with a length of string, and placed along the side of the gym bag. Deeming himself set for a year, Itachi opened a drawer on the bedside table and withdrew a sketch book. After pondering for a second, he set to drawing the scene from the top of the Hokage Monument from memory. As the sun outside began to brush the top of the wall surrounding Konoha, Itachi placed the book back in the drawer and settled in for a good night's rest.

Meanwhile, Naruto went to her Apartment on the far East side of the village. On her way past the table, she grabbed the discarded black and blue messenger bag that lay there. In it, she placed a scroll containing six outfits and extra socks, a second that was nearly identical to Itachi's in content but with a few more loops of ninja wire. Her's was conductive though, made to be used in conjunction with her teammates. Two finely crafted, seventeen centimeter, chakra conducting blades were wrapped in a powder blue cloth and placed delicately in a zipper pocket on the inside of the bag. A notebook joined them, with three black notebook was a gift from Tsunade on her birthday last year. In it so far were a few random doodles, a few phrases, but not much more.

Tomorrow would be good.

Tomorrow will bring a new client.

Tomorrow will bring a new mission.

Tomorrow will bring a new day.

(Republished on 04-28-2016)


	2. A Chaotic Meeting (As Usual)

_Monday, August 9th, 1993._

_London, England._

_2:37 P.M._

"So yeah dudes, I'm sorry, but the hero is going to be withdrawing his awesomely heroic soldiers from your guy's lands. We've got enough problems going on right now, we don't need to have most of the public focus on other countries." America concluded his speech, sitting down. Yeah, you thought they were getting stuff done, didn't you? In all honesty, the World conference was going the way they all did. Which is to say... Well, how shall we put this simply...

Pure, utter, chaos. (America just can't read the mood. As per usual.)

Italy was crying because he ran out of pasta, Spain was being _way _too happy, South Korea wouldn't shut up, China was offering snacks, Japan wouldn't tell anyone what he was thinking, Switzerland was yelling at said Asian to man up, France and England were fighting for the fourth time that meeting, Liechtenstein was sitting in a corner with Sealand, explaining that he had to be leader of the micronations first, a real nation second. Russia was being intimidating, the Baltics were as far away from Russia as they could get without it being obvious they didn't want to be there, Germany looked about ready to flip, and Belarus' hand kept flinching dangerously close to her knives when America started to argue with Russia over oil. Norway was choking Denmark because he was playing with his Legos during a meeting, Finland was trying to get Sweden to smile, Iceland just sat with Hong Kong and wondered why they kept doing these meeting when nothing was accomplished anyways. Though Hong Kong was fingering some firecrackers below the table, a barely noticeable smirk on his face. Mr. Puffin and Hong Kong's Panda sat beside them. For some reason, Romania was smiling creepily, one sharp canine tooth poking over his bottom lip. Luckily, Bulgaria noticed the lighter and candle the red-eyed nation was holding up and quickly confiscated the objects. To make things even more chaotic, Prussia suddenly flew through the window with a loud cry of "I AM AWESOME!" He was carried by twenty gilbirds on each arm. How the little creatures managed it was a mystery. Prussia was soon beaten out of the meeting via Hungary's frying pan, home-run style, as Austria played 'Take Me Out To The Ballgame' on his violin in a corner. This chaos reigned until 5:58 P.M. before someone halted them.

However, whereas normally Germany disrupts the chaos, this time it was England. With an echoing shout of 'Shut _up_, you complete idiots!' The room had silenced quickly. A few sniffles could still be heard from Italy and Latvia's direction, but those were the only noises. "Look, we're here to try and fix the state of the world, not cause more war and strife! Can we please _try_ to be mature and act like the adults we are?" A few nations looked away from the fuming Englishman, light blushes of embarrassment on their faces. In case you were wondering, France was unconscious due to a lack of air when England started choking him. England took a deep breath. "While I've got your attention, I would like Russia, China, America, France, Hungary, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Prussia, Germany, Japan, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Romania, Norway, Finland and Iceland to stay behind after the meeting, please."

As England sat down, Germany replaced him. "Well said, England. Romania is last on our presentation list. If you could, Romania?" The world turned to look at the fanged nation, seeing a smoking pile of ash and an angry Bulgaria muttering things in his native language under his breath. Vladimir had a small, sheepish grin on his face. "Uhh… oops?"

Germany facepalmed. "Right…. Does anyone have anything to add before we dismiss this?" Canada raised his hand, but no one noticed him. "Right, meeting dismissed, see you all in Bern in three months."

As nations picked up their various notes, papers, devices, and in some cases, sleeping friends, the Allies, Nordics, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Hungary, and Prussia joined England at the end of the long table at which many treaties, declarations of war, and nations had been fully formed. The island nation was removing some documents from his black briefcase at a hurried pace, muttering phrases in Old English under his breath. The called nations waited awkwardly around England until the rest of the world had emptied out. America did have to leave for a bit to help drag a sleeping Greece to Turkey's car so they could go back to the hotel, but he soon returned to join the group of seventeen nations.

"Right. I ask a favor of you all. There's a crazy mass murderer running around, and I need some assistance in subduing him. I will have to turn you all into children though. Norway, Romania, can I count on you two to help with that?" The two nodded, a faint smile gracing Norway's lips at the promise of performing spells. America and many of the other nations, however, sighed. "England, Magic isn't-" before America could finish his comment, England had whipped out a strange stick and waved it towards Germany's briefcase. Germany found his papers and notes harshly yanked out of his hand by an unseen force and held above his head where he couldn't reach it. "You were saying?" Romania held up two fingers in front of his face, and little sparks of flame flickered out at a controlled rate. Norway found himself lifted from behind by his shirt and placed on the shoulder of his troll, while all the others saw was a magically floating Lukas, seemingly sitting on something they couldn't see

"H-How...?" America stuttered. England sighed. "Magic, idiot. Duh." America found the strange stick pointed at him. "Now, hold still." Honestly, Alfred wouldn't have moved anyways, petrified with an unusual kind of fear from his memories. "_See, child._" England commanded in a strange voice. A few of the gathered nations would later swear they saw two, semi-visible angle wings behind him as he said that. America's eyes went foggy for a moment, but they soon cleared with a new light in them.

"What is _that_!" He screamed, pointing at whatever Norway was sitting on. The Nordic looked at his magical companion with an expression similar to happiness, before calmly turning back to the borderline-hyperventilating superpower. "This is Venn. _Si hallo, Venn._" (Say hello, Venn.) The troll seemed to smile, large pointed teeth exposed, and gave a little wave towards America. Said nation passed out as England and Romania finished up giving the rest of the nations the ability to See.

German started around in shock. Japan looked like he was living in his favorite anime. Italy looked like... Well, Italy. China was murmuring something that sounded like "I knew it... Magic... I knew it..." Switzerland's hand was continuously twitching towards his gun as he noticed the number of fairies around them as Liechtenstein grabbed his hand and started around in awe. The Nordics didn't look surprised. They do live with Norway, after all. Hungary's grip had tightened around the handle of her frying pan momentarily, before a little fairy in a green dress had flown up to her and started chittering away. Gilbird had flown off of Prussia's head, investigating the strange new creatures around them. The old empire himself was staring at something none of them could see.

"Who are you?" The nineteen assembled nations turned to where the Prussian was looking. There, stood a man who looked remarkably like America. "I'm Canada." The nations were surprised to hear his voice so clearly, especially France, America and England. "D-Dude... I can hear you!" America cheerfully ran over and glomped his twin. "Have I finally corrupted my sweet, quiet brother? Come on, let's go TP Svalbard's house later!" Norway stepped forward, a slightly angry look on his face. "That was _you?_ I swear, if you touch her house again, I will have Venn and his friends stalk you before showing you the wonders of Snødøping." America backed away from the irate blonde. "Fine, fine."

England cleared his throat. "Again, can we _try_ to act like the centuries-old nations we are? Honestly, you all act like a lot of squabbling children. I need you all to help me bring a mass murderer under control, but if the only ones I can count on to help are the other members of the Magic Trio, then I guess you all can go back to your hotel rooms." Surprisingly, none of them left. "Yo, Iggy, dude. I've always made fun of you for being into all this 'magic' stuff. Now, you suddenly reveal that it's all real and that two other nations can perform magic. Honestly, I want to learn about this stuff. And I wanna know where you learned it!" At the other nations nods of agreement, England took a deep breath. "One, don't call me Iggy. Two, it's learnt, not learned. Three, you're all going to be thirteen year olds."

Ah, this is where the protesting comes in. Physically, England, Denmark, Prussia, Germany, Japan and China were twenty five. Russia, Norway, France, Switzerland, Italy and Romano were twenty four. Finland and Romania were twenty three. Hungary was twenty two, while America and Canada, as twins, were twenty. Iceland, though being more than a thousand years old, was still only 17 due to his population. Liechtenstein was the only one there who was already thirteen.

England held up a hand to attempt the wave of anger flowing towards him. After all, most of the nation's hadn't been that small for several hundred or thousand years. It took a couple shots of fire from Romania and a roar from Norway's troll to get the nations to quiet down. "Look, I don't want to be a teenager either, but the kid that this murderer is after is thirteen, so if we're going to fit in and get the guy, we have to de-age you. You'll still have all of your memories and experience, and you'll have a month to adjust if we de-age you now. Norway, Romania and I will also be younger. I've discussed it with the Headmaster of the school, and there will also be three guards from a very secluded country. I don't know who or where this country is, so don't ask. Term starts on September First, so you all can stay with me until then. Do you have any questions?"

Germany raised his hand. "Can we bring any weapons with us?" England nodded. "Within reason, and nothing larger than, perhaps, a pistol. Remember, the criminal is using means that our technology can not defend against. Norway, Romania and I will be giving you small lessons in defense when you get your wands." Switzerland raised his hand. "What kinds of weapons do we use- handguns, rifles, shotguns?" The ex-empire paused before replying. "I would go with a handgun, as they are easily concealed if you know how. Japan?" The Asian put his hand down. "What is the man's name? Both the boy we are supposed to help defend and the criminal." "Harry potter is the boy. The criminal is Sirius Black." Italy raised his hand. "C-Can I bring..." He took a deep breath.

"PASTAAA~!?"

England winced from the sheer echo of the cowardly nation's cry. "Yes, you can bring pasta. Are there any other questions?" No one volunteered any. "Alrighty then. If you all will follow us..." England set off out of the room with Romania and Norway. The others followed.

They went down into the basement, and went down four different hallways. Left, left, right, and another left led them to a large, cavernous room, easily the size of a school gym. On their way past, Romania, Norway, and England picked up sticks of white chalk from a box. A large white circle, probably ten feet across, was already painted on the floor, a star with nine points inside it. Working quickly, Romania set to lighting candles placed around the room. Once lit, they glowed with a strange purple flame and green aura. Norway and England were on hands and knees around the circle, socket hung out ancient runes and old phrases in an outdated language none of the nation's remembered.

About five minutes later, the magic circle was completed. "Stand in the center." England commanded. Everyone went to the center, except the Magic Trio. Russia, China, Switzerland, and Germany went with slight reluctance. The magic trio stood on the outer points of the circle, with two in between each of them. At some point during the process, one of them had deposited spell books in front of them. In unison, the three took a deep breath and began to chant.

From the edges of the outer circle, purple, red, and green light began flickering up. The longer the Trio chanted, the higher the wall became, soon encompassing the entire group in a dome of swirling light. As the spell- because that was clearly what this was- was chanted louder, the light grew brighter. Italy had long since hidden his face in Germany's suit, resisting the urge to make a white flag out of his tie and the pasta fork in his pocket. Soon, all of them had their eyes closed, though the chanting continued. A wind that felt like it was laced with a kind of power circled in the dome. With one final repetition of the incantation, all the light was suddenly gone.

Pressure was on all of the nation's eardrums. A low whistling noise, like wind through a tunnel, was echoing around them, bouncing around the circle. Mr. Puffin let out a small screech from his position in Iceland's arms. America risked a glance at their surroundings, and quickly closed his eye again. A swirling black chaos of nothingness surrounded them, kept out and away by a thin golden cage of light. The magic trio were sweating, never having transported this many people before.

Regardless of how long it felt to the nations, they were only in mid-dimension for about five seconds. With a high pitched screech similar to a train's brakes on the track, they were in England's basement. Japan's face was a beautiful shade of green, and was clutching his stomach. Even Russia, for all his terrifying intimidation, looked a little sick.

The Magic Trio was sweating a lot, and Norway was leaning slightly on his troll. England had an arm wrapped around a Unicorn's neck. Two Zâne appeared to be holding onto the back of Romania's red jacket. Hungary decided to put aside the mutual disagreements between them, and went over to Romania and took some of his weight off the two creatures. France did the same for England, and Denmark for Norway. When the three had regained enough energy to stand on their own, France, Denmark, and Hungary released the trio. Even though they divided the energy equally, they _did_ just rip a hole in the fabric of space-time to send a total of 19 people more than two hundred miles from Whitehall where the meeting was being held, to England's house near Farlington.

Seeing as the three who came to England's house regularly were still too winded to make out fully coherent sentences, France told the nations that there were three guestrooms, one in the basement, and two upstairs, down the hallway and on the right. It was already decided that the Magic Trio would be bunking in England's room. Japan, Italy, and Germany decided to take the room in the basement. Hungary and Liechtenstein were going to share the smaller of the first floor rooms. Switzerland and the Nordics chose the larger of the two. The Germanic nation made a little cot out of blankets and a spare pillow on the floor, and Sweden and Finland did the same. Iceland lay across the foot of the bed while Denmark and Norway slept like normal people. Mr. Puffin made a nest out of the Icelander's hair. Prussia claimed the 'awesome' couch, while the five leftover Allies- France, Russia, China, America, and Canada- dragged a bunch of blankets and pillows up to the attic.

After rooms were sorted out, the nations met in the living room for one last discussion before bed. It was eventually decided that some of Norway's Trolls and Romania's fairies would be sent to collect their belongings from the hotel. England would try to see if he could get some of Wales' Tylwyth Teg that lingered around his house to help.

Everything seeming to be about as set as it would ever be, the nations went to bed, still not fully prepared for the world of magic, but ready to try and take it on.

(Reuploaded on 04-28-2016)


	3. Hogwarts

**A/N: ... Hi.**

**-Responses-**

**To Guest: I forget to put these things in, but there's no pairings in this story. There might be **_**implied**_ **pairings, but no actual ships. **

**To OverRule: Sorry. Itachi had been going by 'Genzai' after the Uchiha Massacre.**

**Disclaimer: I am American. Kishimoto and Himaruya are Japanese. J.K. Rowling is English. Enough said.**

"_This is the kind of world you will be entering. Moving and talking pictures, strange animals, Magic. The things straight out of our fairy tales. The client will be here tomorrow to explain it all in more detail."_

Itachi calmly walked into Tsunade's office, mask covering his face, to see Tsunade talking with an elderly man. He had waist length silvery hair and the beard to match. Half-Moon golden spectacles covered blue eyes with a grandfatherly twinkle in them. Flowing indigo robes with rose-peach trimming around the hems hid his shoes.

The Uchiha waited patiently for the two to finish conversing. As he waited, Kakashi and Naruto entered and stood by him, also with masks on. A glance from the Hokage let them know she knew of their presence and would be finishing the little chat soon. Their conversation sounded like it was about lodging for Itachi and Kakashi, as Naruto would be acting as a first year student.

The debating seemed to be over with the conclusion that they would put one of the guard paintings over the hatch of an unused classroom, remove the tables and chairs, and replace them with two beds and a dresser, and basically turn the room into a small apartment. Naruto would be sleeping on the couch until the school year started. The man said what sounded like a name and a creature in ratty clothing with large ears and eyes appeared. Dumbledore told it the plan, and it left with a cracking noise the equivalent of a whip.

The man- obviously their client- turned to face them fully. "Ah, hello. I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You are Wolf, Weasel, and Fox, I assume?" The trio gave quick nods in almost perfect synchronization. It was nice of him to list them in order of seniority. "Thank you for accepting the mission. I will tell you that there will also be nineteen other people there to assist in the protection of Harry Potter, but I didn't have much of a choice in whether or not they would be coming. You'll be able to tell who they are when you see them, I assure you. However, they don't know about you, as far as I know. Anyways," Dumbledore paused.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is, of course, dedicated to the training of young witches and wizards. We have a small community, hidden to the eyes of Muggles- people who don't have a single drop of magic running through their veins. Technically, you are Muggles, but in theory, you can bend your chakra to fit the same specifications as magic and run it through the wand. It's kind of like channeling your chakra nature through a metal, just you need an even sharper control over it. Example." Dumbledore took out his own wand, and gave it a complex little wave. Several small parakeets of varying color shot out the tip, and flew around the room before popping in a cloud of smoke the same color as they were. "A strong blast of chakra or magic can't do that." Another wave and a small explosion of purple smoke shot out the end with an accompanying 'bang!' To their credit, none of the Shinobi flinched or jumped, despite their rather sensitive hearing. However, if you knew him well enough, you could tell that, behind the mask, Kakashi was blinking back black dots. He was called Wolf for his more-sensitive than average hearing and his Dog summons.

"See? Now, I must warn you not to cross the ghosts, as they can get quite creative in their plots for revenge. A painting by the name of Lisa isn't that kind either. She can actually shoot things out of her painting, and we aren't sure why. Avoid her. Another is Miss Zakar, she is rather unpleasant and will scream insults at you if you don't do as she says. To get back on track, however, the school is under a threat of Sirius Black, and if memory serves me right, Tsunade here should have explained most of the big facts to you. Do you have any questions?"

"Are there any secret entrances we should know about through which Black could enter?" Kakashi asked, ever the one to point out secrets and back doors. "There are three that I know of. One is hidden in the roots of the Whomping Willow, a tree that will take a swing at you if you get too close. Another is behind a mirror on the fourth floor, however if caved in about three years ago and is currently untraversable. The third one is behind a statue of Gregory the Smarmy on the fifth floor."

"How many students are there and how are they divided among themselves?" Itachi questioned. "There are around eight hundred students every school year, and they are divided into the four Houses. Slytherin for the cunning and ambitious students, Hufflepuff for the loyal friends who will never leave your side, Ravenclaw for the ones who hold their education close to their hearts, and Gryffindor for the brave and if I'm quite honest, impulsive students. The current smallest House is Hufflepuff, followed by Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor and Slytherin are typically almost equal in size."

Naruto thought for a moment before asking her question, red hair fluttering briefly as she shifted her weight forward. "Can you tell us the names of the people who are going to be helping us?" Dumbledore had a smile on his face. "Ah, I knew you would ask that. There's Ivan Braginski, Yao Wang, Kiku Honda, Emil Steilsson, Lukas Bondevik, Vash and Lili Zwingli, Mathias Kohler, Tino Vainamoinen, Berwald Oxenstierna, Gilbert and Ludwig Beilschmidt, Matthew Williams, Alfred Jones, Arthur Kirkland, Francis Bonnefoy, Vladimir Albu, and Elizabeta Hedervary."

Itachi spoke up once more. "Do you know anything that could help us get a one-up on Black?"

"Yes, actually. He is rather unstable mentally by now, so he should be easy to trick or negotiate with. However, any possible hostage situations will be incredibly delicate to handle. One of you is a hostage negotiator, yes?" Naruto nodded, being the one who took that particular class. While all three were quite skilled at fighting and spying, Itachi and Kakashi were very combat oriented while Naruto was more centered on basic first aid, negotiations and spying, the last one mainly due to her fox form. "Good, good. On the other hand however, Black has been known to be incredibly cunning in his own right, even though he was in Gryffindor. I was told that there was a high possibility that he could have gone into Slytherin if he hadn't been so against the idea."

"Are there any possibly untrustworthy students or teachers we should know about?" Naruto asked. Dumbledore paused before answering. "All of the staff are very loyal to me. There are a few seventh years who may be untrustworthy, but they aren't much to worry about. I know you could easily handle any challenges instigated by students." The redhead nodded in understanding. A few glances to her teammates made sure they had had their curiosity sated as well. "That's all, Dumbledore-san. Thank you." The old man smiled. "Well, let's go get you some supplies then!" He said cheerily. From the depths of his purple robes he pulled out an old, blunt, rusty dagger none of the Nin could imagine using in combat, but besides that the three ANBU were tensed slightly, prepared to leap into action to protect their Kage. Dumbledore smiled faintly, grabbed the blade, and held the handle out to them. "Just lay a single finger on it, and you'll be on your way." When the three had done as instructed, the other hand gripping the straps of their bags and in itachi's case, hitching it higher on their shoulder, Dumbledore let go.

The dagger began to glow a shade of blue that was unique to Portkeys. As the light grew brighter, Tsunade stood with a short shout that sounded like 'You didn't tell them about-!' However, after an "it's fine" from Dumbledore, the trio were whisked away from Konoha for the next ten months. Dumbledore himself gave the blonde a smile, informed her she would see them at the end of the year, and he appreciated her accepting the mission. Then he waved his wand, spun on his heel, and Tsunade stared as he disappeared with a pop.

The trio were spinning, spinning, _spinning,_ colors flying around them. Honestly, Naruto felt like she would hurl any second. But then it was over and the three were standing in an office, the dagger clattering to the floor between them. A second or two later, Dumbledore appeared out of what looked like a kind of vortex, landing on his feet and appearing no worse for the wear. The ninja themselves were a little pale. "Ah, sorry for not warning you. I'm impressed that you are still on your feet. Anyways, let me show you your room." With a swish of the robes, Dumbledore left the room, pushing open a door on his way and making his way down a small, circular stairwell on moving steps.

The four went down a long hallway before turning to their right and ducking behind a tapestry and making their way through a narrow passage that came out behind a painting of a girl about seventeen years of age, with blonde hair and eyes a striking cobalt blue. She wore silvery-grey iron armor and wielded a sword in her right hand. She inspected them closely as they passed, and offered Naruto a small smile. A left turn brought them to a dead end corridor lined with multiple paintings and a few classroom doors. Dumbledore walked up to the third painting on the left side of the hall. In it, a young girl with stunning eyes that seemed to constantly shift through Green, Blue, and Grey watched them as they approached. A bookcase was behind her, the red wallpaper making the girl's dark brown- almost black- hair stand out. On her lap sat a black cat with a large splotch of white on it's chest and paw. A kind smile was on her face, as her eyes glittered with a light that hinted at cunning intelligence possessed by few, and a spirit that didn't take anything from anyone. She wore a fine cotton gown of periwinkle blue, and a deep purple thread was used on the hems.

"Hello, Emily. These are the ninja I told you about." Emily's dress fluttered a bit as she began to bet the cat. "Ah, hello. It's nice to meet you." A small grin and polite nod was sent towards the three ANBU, who gave short nods in return. "What is your passcode going to be and how often do you want to change it?" Emily asked. Naruto glanced towards her partners, an unspoken message going between them. "Hogo shi sabu." Emily took a second to commit it to memory, reciting it back to them. It was a fitting password, really. 'Protect and Serve.' They were here to protect, and in doing so, serving both the client and their village.

Dumbledore stepped away from Emily and turned, facing the three who would be living here for the next ten months. "I'll leave you to get settled in and figure out your way around." And he was gone, in a swirl of the night-sky-purple robes. A faint click was heard from Emily's left, and it was as though a latch had been undone.

Where there was a painting, the was now a door, hanging open to a room. A handle on the inside enabled them to pull the door shut and- presumably- open it as well. Kakashi and Itachi's quarters for the rest of the school year were pretty nice, believe it or not. A dresser about 4.5 feet (1.3 meters) tall was pressed against the far left corner of the room. The right side had two twin sized beds with their headboards to the wall. In between them was a bedside table with a lamp on it. Directly across the room from the door was a small window, overlooking a large lake that looked eerie in the near-dusk light of the Scottish mountains.

Near the bed closest to the entrance, there was a narrow door that presumably led to a bathroom. On the left side of their quarters lied a couch just a little longer than Naruto was tall. On it lied a dark orange blanket and a light blue pillow. A small, cozy looking fireplace with an iron grate was near the couch, a moderately sized, neatly stacked pile of firewood was on a stand on the right of the fireplace. The walls were a deep shade of green not that uncommon in the forests outside of Konoha.

Kakashi tossed his bag on the bed closer to the window, and Itachi claimed the one closer to the bathroom, placing his gym bag more gently on the bed than Kakashi had. Immediately after setting her bag down, Naruto removed her mask, pushing sweaty bangs off her forehead. It may not look like it, but those things got pretty freaking _hot_ after a while, and Konoha was located in the middle of the Land of _Fire, _and it wasn't called that without reason. Itachi and Kakashi followed suit, removing their painted Black Ops masks and also briefly running a hand through their hair. Itachi took his pony tail out and redid it quickly, with three quick and easy flicks of his wrist.

Naruto pulled out her notebook and a blue pen and laid down on the couch, idly sketching on a new page as she waited for her partners to finish unpacking, wanting to think out their 'plan of attack' so to speak. Her unpacking completely was kind of pointless, after all, she was only going to be crashing in their room for a month. A detailed form manifested on the page, an intricate pattern of lines, curves, triangles, eclipses and undefinable shapes coming together to form the view outside the window from their spot on the fifth floor. A faint shuffling signaled Kakashi and Itachi had finished their unpacking. The sun was beginning to sink below the tops of the trees of the forest outside.

"You want to call it a night and start learning our way around this place tomorrow?" Kakashi asked. "Sounds good. Five AM?" Itachi replied. "Naruto, you okay with waking up a five tomorrow?" Naruto bookmarked the sketch, closed the notebook and slipped it back into her bag. "Sounds great. I can get breakfast if you guys make the fire." The nods signified the two males agreement with those plans. "Well, goodnight then."

Naruto unfolded the blanket and covered up, reclining into the couch as her teammates lay in their own beds. Yeah, this would work. The plan wasn't near perfectly formed yet, but all three of them were good with improvisation in battle and negotiations. The trio had a tendency to see things from an angle no one else did- thinking of ways to make a process go quicker and more efficiently, with fewer places for error.

Listening to the soft breathing of Itachi and Kakashi, Naruto sighed. There was no way this would go as simply as it seemed to be in theory. Something could go wrong, their mysterious assistance could secretly be traitorous, Dumbledore could be hiding something, one of her teammates could be severely wounded. Naruto closed her eyes. No. Don't focus on the what ifs, focus on the task at hand. Distractions lead to mistakes, mistakes lead to unnecessary casualties. Letting out one last exhale before sleep took over, she relaxed. Yes, this might not go perfectly, but they would adjust and make it work.

The Next Morning...

_'Oi! Short one! It's 4:37!' _Naruto shot up from her position on the couch. 'Jeez, Kyu, no need to shout.' A snort answered her. _'You're about to be a teenager. __Nothing_ _will wake you up then.'_ Naruto sighed as she got off her 'bed'. 'So?' She yawned with a stretch, getting no response from the giant nine-tailed fox in her head. Assuming Kyuubi had already fallen asleep, Naruto set to opening the scroll with her clothes in it and selecting a dark blue t-shirt and black pants. She placed both of her long knives in specially made sheathes, on on the inside of her right bicep, the other one strapped to the back of her left shoulder blade, handle up. She went over to the window and gently opened it. Luckily, it didn't creak. Naruto cast a glance at her still sleeping partners before channeling her chakra to her feet and running straight down the wall. About twenty feet from the ground, she leapt off the wall of the castle, changing into her fox form before she hit the ground, landing on her feet, before setting off at a quick trot towards the woods.

Soon, she had delved deep into the forest, the trees becoming larger. Hearing a rustle in the underbrush to her right, she crouched low to the ground, ears perking up and nose twitching. Vulpine eyes narrowed as a snow white rabbit hopped out into her sights, downwind of her location. The sun glinted on Naruto's dark reddish-orange fur as her hind leg muscles coiled tightly, ready to spring. The rabbit seemed to know it was being watched, as it froze, looking around and sniffing the air. A second later, it leapt away as Naruto sprang from the bushed and gave chase, leaning left and right as the rabbit tried basic evasive maneuvers to get her off it's tail- literally. Naruto was gaining on the small creature, choosing not to use her chakra and almost treating this as a form of training. If there came to be a time she had very low reserves, she would need to rely on her own skills.

With a great leap, Naruto closed the distance between her and the rabbit, pinning it and quickly snapping it's neck. Quick, clean, painless. She changed back into her normal form, picking up the maybe 6 pound (2 kg) rabbit in her hands before jumping up to the middle branches of tree above her. The branches were much slimmer than the ones in Konoha, but they were firm enough to use tree-jumping to get back to the school grounds.

About two minutes later, she made it to the edge of the forest, holding the rabbit close to her. She spotted Itachi and Kakashi crouched almost directly below their room, a small fire going between them. Itachi had his Katana strapped sideways across his back, the handle by his left shoulder and Kakashi's tanto was in it's vertical position along the older ANBU's spine. As she neared, Naruto saw Kakashi go back to the forest for more wood. They could have used the firewood in their room, but then when winter comes, the would have to go outside to get burning materials. Better to cook with forest-scavenged firewood, and remain warm at night and in the cold months with actual firewood. Kakashi returned with an armload of dry sticks at the same time Naruto set down the rabbit.

"Hm. Good catch." Itachi murmured, keeping a close eye on the fire. Naruto nodded in response, picking up a skinning knife that was laid on a small slab of rock and beginning to skin the rabbit. "I think it's warm enough to cook. Go ahead." Itachi informed them of the fire's status before stepping back and spearing one of the rabbit's hind legs and letting it cook over the fire. Naruto and Kakashi did the same, and as the sun rose around them, letting the dew on the grass fracture into a rainbow of color across the grounds, the trio could almost imagine they were off on another team-building exercise as Itachi told a small joke that made Naruto laugh.

That is, until a strange creature dashed out of the woods, straight towards them. Naruto's light hearted laugh cut off abruptly as she leapt to her feet with Kakashi and Itachi, all three sliding their masks down onto their faces as they dropped back into their respective fighting stances. Kakashi in front with a similar stance to the Iron Fist stance as being a close range fighter, Itachi behind his silver-haired teammate in the Uchiha Stance meant to compliment the Sharingan. Itachi hadn't activated his eyes for the same reason Naruto hadn't used chakra while catching the rabbit. There may come a time when he lacked the chakra to activate the Sharingan, so using his own strength would be good. Naruto was farthest back, eight senbon held in between her fingers, ready to be released at any moment. Her stance was a modified version of the traditional academy stance. The academy stance was made for offence and not losing ground to your opponent; Naruto had altered it to be more flowing, similar to the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist, able to quickly leap forward and strike before jumping back into a defensive position.

The creature appeared to have a black cloak on, the tattered fabric fluttering madly behind it as it sprinted towards them. A pure white face with sunken, pitch black eyes stared out them as the mouth full of sharp, yellowed and half rotted teeth was opened and prepared to bite and snarl. The creature had long, razor sharp finger nails that looked as though they could slice through anything. It's face and body structure were vaguely humanoid and feminine. The darkly colored skin on it's arms was mottled with a yellowish-brown hue of sickness or infection. It smelled strongly of rotted flesh, and had bare feet with gnarled toenails and hairy feet. A dark brown dribble looked to be coming from it's mouth, possibly dried blood. With a very inhuman screech, it leapt at Kakashi, slashing with it's claws.

Kakashi jumped back and parried, his tanto having been pulled from the vertical sheath when he stood from his position. Itachi leapt forward and attempted to cut the creature's arm, but the thing retreated a few feet with a hiss. "I am the Grymer. You can't beat me that easily, _human._" It's voice was grating to the ears, like fingernails being dragged down a chalkboard. The word 'human' was spat out like it was some ugly word. Naruto took the chance while the Grymer was talking to launch a senbon to it's calf, but the creature moved just enough that the senbon missed it's target, but was still embedded in it's leg. The Grymer howled, rushing towards Kakashi and slashing wildly with it's claws, unable to attack Itachi as he was still behind Kakashi. The Wolf ANBU himself was still parrying against it's strikes, unable to get a hit of his own in. The red paint on the mask gleamed in the rising sun as Weasel flipped over Wolf's head from the castle wall, the downward slash prompting the Gymer to back off for a second or get sliced in half.

Naruto took her opportunity again and sent four different pairs of senbon at the Grymer, hoping to get it boxed in and unable to dodge with the eight needles as Naruto launched a kunai towards the Grymer's stomach. However, the black-cloaked nightmare creature simply bared its fangs and managed to somehow maneuver out of the way, small flecks of blood flying out of its mouth as it hissed.

Itachi moved forward with a quick, horizontal slash to a downward strike at the Grymer, hoping to get a hit in. He was able to get a wound in on the creature, but in return, it slashed at his free arm that was on the defense, scratching it open. Itachi jumped back with a small hiss of pain, immensely happy that his left hand had been up guarding his face. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have a face anymore. As he shook off the pain, he noticed Naruto had gone up to the ledge of a second story window, the black sheath of her knife visible for a split second before the twin daggers were in her hands, ready to be used. Kakashi was in blade-claw combat with the Grymer, constantly having to dodge its other 'hand.'

Slipping his wrist through a red ribbon in the handle, Itachi began performing hand signs as Naruto rushed down the wall and leapt at the Grymer with her knives, imitating the Grymer's own moves. Itachi ignored his wounded arm that was screaming as he finished the last hand sign. "_Move!_" He shouted in their native tongue as he inhaled deeply. Kakashi and Naruto immediately retreated a short distance, having a fair guess at what their partner was going to do. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" And indeed, the large ball of fire was headed straight towards the creature, too large for it to dodge.

The Grymer took the hit with a screech of pain and fury, and as the smoke cleared, the Grymer was standing, hunched over even more than before, it's cloak tattered and burnt. The previously white skin on it's face was darkened to a similar shade of a toasting marshmallow, it's black eyes narrowed and glinting savagely. The creature let loose a shriek of rage, that quickly went up drastically in pitch and pain as Kakashi speared it from behind with a Raikiri, his teammates only warning being the flicker of blue light and the sound of hundreds, if not thousands, of chirping birds.

The Grymer began to dissolve around the lightning blade, fading into a dark light that faded out of existence, though the stench of rotted flesh remained. Wolf was eventually left holding his arm out into empty space, blood dripping off it before it too, vanished. Naruto took a brief survey of the damage to her teammates as the Grymer's last screech died off. All that remained was the tattered and burnt cloak and a foul smelling vomit green sludge on Kakashi's hand, that was quickly wiped down.

Itachi had a large slash on his forearm, the edges turning an odd pinkish green. Multiple small cuts and scrapes were on their faces and any exposed skin, simply from rolling around on the grass. Kakashi seemed to place weight gingerly on his left leg, making Naruto question if her teammate had sprained or broken something.

"Itachi, on a scale of one to ten, how bad is that wound." She said sternly, not accepting anything less than the truth. Some could call her a mother hen, and it was true in certain scenarios. "About a six, probably." Naruto went over to him, dropping to her knees and prompting him to do that same as Kakashi pulled out some antibiotic cream and started treating his own abrasions, letting Naruto work undisturbed on the Uchiha.

She concentrated on removing a tiny amount of her chakra from the large lake that was her reserves. She was by no means a full scale medical ninja- her chakra coils were far too large for that. She had a better control over her chakra than the citizens of the village would like to believe, and Tsunade herself had trained Naruto in control. Taking a deep breath, Naruto thinned out her chakra, pulling it from her core reserves, through the coils, and out into her fingers. She imagined it moving into a thin string, a quickly maneuverable and agile little thing. Naruto directed her chakra to Itachi's wound, closing her eyes and mentally imagining the blue string whisping out into different tendrils, feeling around for the poison that had entered Itachi's bloodstream. She located it soon, about two inches above the elbow on the inside of her teammate's arm, it having congested into a large lump like an ugly kind of cancer. Taking a second deep breath, she focused on moving the thin strands of chakra around the clump of poison, trapping it with a net-like pattern. "Yes," Naruto breathed, having gripped the poison-ball tightly with the chakra netting. She slowly began to withdraw the unnatural object, pulling the three millimeter clump along through Itachi's blood vein. It may have been small, but judging from the Uchiha's sweaty brow and increasingly heavy breathing, it was certainly powerful and a very, very high health hazard.

"There." Naruto said, opening her eyes as her chakra removed the rest of the clump. She threw it towards the forest, before grabbing a length of medical gauze from Kakashi. She slid her mask up onto her forehead, wrapping the bandage around Itachi's arm firmly but not enough to cut off circulation to his hands. "Are you good, nothing else that needs looked at?" The first half of the question was directed at Kakashi, the second to Itachi. "Oh no, I'm fine." Naruto caught a glimpse of the ANBU's eye smile through the eye hole of his mask. "As am I. Thank you, Naruto." Said red-head grinned at the Uchiha. "Well, that's good." She mentally slapped herself at the lame comment, choosing to sit down on the grass and pick up the now cold rabbit, using the 'mouth full, can't talk' excuse.

Kakashi and Itachi sat down as well, opting to warm their rabbit up before finishing it, as they didn't have a gigantic, super-powerful chakra powerhouse inside of them to give them resistance to, say, usually unhealthy food items. The trio finished their breakfast of sorts quickly, sliding their masks down onto their faces once more as Dumbledore came around the bend of the castle wall, dark indigo robes billowing behind him. "Where have you been?" He stared at the still unbandaged scratch on Fox's arm and the medical tape on Weasel, as well as the various small amounts of ointment and small bandages on Wolf. "What happened?" The blue eyes landed on the cloak.

"You ran into a Grymer?" Dumbledore looked shocked. "And you defeated her- without any magic- how?" Kakashi stepped forward lightly. "Teamwork. Fox on backup and long distance, Itachi covering me whenever I had to beck out for a second, and me covering Itachi whenever he needed it." The elderly wizard still seemed appalled, before a light smirk adorned his features. "Well, I must say you ninja never fail to impress me. Come, meet the feast of the Staff." Blue eyes twinkling, Dumbledore gestured with a wide sweep of his arm and an open hand. He walked casually around the bend of the castle once more, the trio of ANBU following silently, abandoning the light, cheerful personas they had adopted when around each other.

The professor step through two large oak doors the opened into a large atrium, two or three hallways branching off to their left and two great doors on their right. Opening the doors on the right, Dumbledore gestured them in to meet the staff. A hawk-eyed, bat-like man sat on the far left end of the long table in the room, a slight arrogance hanging around him. On his left sat a very strict looking woman dressed in green with a pointed hat and grey eyes. A lady who looked like those crazy old ladies who feed pigeons sat next to the strict professor. A cloak hung around her shoulders and-Kakashi shuddered- he could smell her perfume from the other end of the hall. A short, chubby, cheerful looking teacher was on the perfume-lady's left, a small yellow and black badger pinned to her robes, which had small patches of dirt on them. Continuing down the line was a very, very short professor with a scraggly little beard and boundless energy. An empty seat, and then a tall wizard with a hooked nose was hunched over the table, scribbling strange symbols and muttering under his breath. A large- scratch that, _huge_ man sat next to the other odd-sized professor, dressed in some kind of giant fur coat and having a mostly one-sided conversation with the witch on his left. Said with was in black robes and had graying hair, a pair of goggles placed on top.

In the middle of the table of teachers, there was a golden, throne-like chair that looked like it was meant for Dumbledore. He introduced them all, starting with the bat-like man on the far right. "That is Professor Snape, he teaches Potions and is head of the Slytherin house. Professor McGonagall, she teaches Transfiguration and is head of the Gryffindor house. Professor Trelawney teaches Divination. Professor Sprout teaches Herbology and is head of the Hufflepuff house. Professor Flitwick teaches Charms and is head of the Ravenclaw house. The empty seat there will be for Professor Lupin, he will teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lyon teaches the History of Muggle England, as their history is just as important as our own. There is another history teacher, Professor Binns, he teaches History of Magic and is a ghost. That's Hagrid, he's our groundskeeper. This year, he's also teaching Care of Magical Creatures." The elderly wizard smiled, looking towards them. "We have breakfast in here, the Great Hall, every morning. I saw you already ate, but for future reference…. There's plenty of food here."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with a strange youthfulness that didn't fit his age. "I think I will just turn you loose then. Explore and find your way around. Lunch is around 12:30, and dinner is Five. Some of the doors are a bit tricky." The trio of Ninja nodded in understanding. "Alright, you can go." The trio bowed towards Dumbledore before seeming to vanish. McGonagall and Flitwick were impressed at the display of 'magic,' as well as Hagrid. Snape said nothing, picking at his food. Lyon had gone back to writing, and Sprout also had some notes out in front of her. Trelawney was staring at the place the nin had been, muttering about an interesting year beginning and bad omens.

Dumbledore wasn't sure about the 'bad omens' part, but an interesting year…. He smiled once more, glancing at the dust particles that were settling to the ground once more from where the ANBU were standing. He couldn't agree more, this year would be more fast paced than any others.

**If only my updates came as fast as this year is going to go.**

**I just now realized my writing got really lazy at the end of Chapter Two. Sorry about that. I might edit it later. If anyone can point out how you can tell when my writing is getting lazy I'll give you a shout out in the next chapter. **

**This is easily the longest chapter so far, and possibly the longest chapter in the story.**

**(But we won't know for sure until I finish it, yeah? And since I have new people who never saw the original footnote on Chapter One, no matter how long it takes to update, don't ever think I abandoned this story.)**

**The whole Three-Fandoms-One-Story mixup should be happening next chapter, if my 'evil plan' goes the way it should.**

**Which it probably won't.**

**And there will be an unplanned plot-twist.**

**As shown by the Grymer.**

**Notes:**

**\- Romania's (Vladimir) last name came from a website titled 'Romanian Surnames.' It comes from the Romanian word for White (alb) I looked one up because he didn't have one on the wiki.**

**\- J.K. Rowling has stated that Hogwarts is located in Scotland. **

**\- I use the Standard system of measurement because most of my readers are in America. However, I do put metric in parenthesis or I'll use metric if I want a more specific measurement. Sorry if I confuse anyone. (I switch between both in real life, too. Confuses the heck out of my friends u )**

**\- As far as I know, the Grymer is my own semi-original character/monster thing. It's based off of the Norse Draugr, which are like ghost-zombie things, and the Icelandic Grýla who eats children who misbehave before Christmas. Yeah… I feel like I'm trying to give myself nightmares. They are also female, if more of them appear later.**

**\- 'She mentally slapped herself after the lame comment.' Yeah, I did too immediately after typing it. But I face palmed.**

**Anyways.**

**Reviews, Ideas, and Suggestions are loved~ (I would very much like to know how my 'fight scene' played out, if it's not too much trouble?)**

**~S.K.C.**

**I will give you a virtual hug if you can guess- or know- where Lyon came from. I will tell you, he isn't from Fairy Tail.**

**Words: 5,674**


	4. Apologies!

Sorry for anyone who thought this was an update, but I've only just gotten around to this.

The laptop I usually write on, my mom's, had an accident involving my little sister and a glass of milk, and the keyboard has a new hit-and-miss policy for a bunch of the keys. I'm writing this from the public library, but I can only check out computers for an hour a day. My laptop is in the shop getting fixed, but until then, none of my stories are going to be getting any updates. I'm writing when I can, but I can't really accomplish much.

I know a lot of you guys probably don't appreciate excuses, but this is where the extended absence- even by my standards- is coming from. Sorry.

I'm also performing a mass rewrite of some of my stories that when I went back to read some things, I wasn't really proud of my writing. I plan to fix a bunch of stupid errors, with grammar, spelling, run-on sentences, and just little things (and the plot, on some of them) that I think could have been written better.


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